The Dawn Has Come
by LadyOfWinds
Summary: A sequel of sorts to 'Ways of Communication'. Mostly a collection of stand-alone chapters dealing with the new life Sam and Dean find themselves in after the events of 'Ways of Communication'. It is almost mandatory to have read 'Ways of Communication' before reading this or some things may be very confusing or make no sense at all. WARNING: Wincest
1. The Dawn Has Come

**WARNING**: Chapters won't always be linear. It'll mostly depend on what I feel like/am inspired to write at the moment.

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It's been two months, three weeks and five days since Dean last had anything even remotely resembling a nightmare. Having Sam next to him has drastically driven back both the frequency and intensity of his nightmares, but every once in a while something would slip through.

The first time he woke was around 1:38 AM. It hadn't been a true nightmare, more of a general feeling of growing unease over the course of his dream. He turned around, snuggled closer against Sam, nose tucked into the crook of his brother's neck, his scent familiar and safe, and drifted back to sleep.

The second time he woke it was 2:19. This time there had been the beginnings of a true nightmare. His breath was slightly laboured and sweat had started to bead on his brow. Dean immediately tried to regulate his breathing, tried to match it to Sam's, while he pulled the blanket up to his chin and clung to Sam's shirt.

He lied there, listening to his own breath, hoping he wouldn't end up waking Sam. It was 3:59 when he finally slipped back under.

The third time Dean awoke with a start. His eyes flew open and he could barely prevent a sob from escaping him. For a moment he lay paralyzed, unable to move except for his eyes darting all around the room, desperate to assure himself there was nothing there, that he wasn't in some unfamiliar place.

The sound of Sam's breathing finally filtered through as he escaped his dreamlike state, ability to move returning to his toes and fingers. Sam's breathing grounded him, anchoring him in the here and now. He clung to it like a lifeline. When he was finally able to move every part of his body again Dean quietly snuck out of bed.

Unsure of where he was going Dean just let his feet take him where they wanted, which was the back door. Once standing in front of it he turned the key in the lock and opened it, allowing the cool night air to wash over him and chase the last fragments of his dreams away.

He sunk down on the step and just sat there, staring at the forest and the changing sky above. He had no idea what time it was but it must be close to dawn. Slowly, the sky changed from a blue so dark it was almost black to the pastel pinks and oranges of those English landscape paintings he had once seen in that museum Sam had dragged him to between two cases.

A soft purring came from behind him and Dean couldn't repress the smile that forced the corners of his mouth upwards.

He turned around with the intention of picking up Aradia and putting her in his lap when he was confronted by the cat rubbing her head against a pair of long legs.

He met Sam's eyes for a brief moment before averting his gaze back to Aradia and picking her up. The cat curled up on his lap almost as soon as he put her there. Seconds after Sam sat himself down on the step beside Dean. It was a bit of a tight fit between the two of them, shoulders rubbing together, but neither of them minded. It was nice to just sit there and watch the sun rise.

By the time sky blue had washed away all of the pinks and oranges painted right above the dark silhouettes of the treetops Dean realised that dawn may have finally come after all for him.

He glanced over at Sam, unimaginatively grateful for his brother in that moment. If it wouldn't have been Dean may still have been stuck in an endless night. But not now, not with his brother and his lover by his side to chase away the darkness.

With a smile stretched out on his lips Dean put his head on Sam's shoulder and drifted off to a peaceful sleep.


	2. Songbird

It was one of the rare days that both Sam and Dean had a day off of work at the same time. Sam, really proud of how much Dean's improved in a rather short amount of time had decided to make a big apple pie.

Aradia was lying on the far end of the kitchen counter, tail swaying every now and then, eyes narrowed into slits as she watched Sam work.

He had just finished making the dough and was about to put it in the fridge to rest when Aradia's ears suddenly went erect. A few more seconds and she veered up, eyes wide before she jumped down onto the floor and ran into the living room. By then Sam had picked up on what he presumed had caught the cat's attention.

With the dough in hand, smoothing out the cling film, Sam cautiously walked over towards the opening in the wall to peer into the living room.

The table had been moved to the side of the room and Dean was sitting cross-legged in the middle of it, half-finished scratching post in front of him and screws and loose pieces lying all around.

One day he had gotten up and decided that Aradia needed a scratching post. Sam had argued that they had a forest as a backyard but Dean wouldn't hear it. What if it was raining, or winter, or a thousand other possible situations Dean had thought up. In the end Sam had just given in, well, more like been forced to give in once Dean started to mockingly accuse him of animal cruelty and kept shoving a wide-eyed, meowing Aradia into his face.

Since there was no pet store in town, Dean had decided that they should drive for over half an hour because he had found out that there was a giant pet store in the city and was sure that he would find something that would suit Aradia's needs there.

In the end they had come home with the biggest, most complicated scratching post that could possibly fit inside the living room. The look on Dean's face as they drove back home had been one of pure smugness while Sam had just resigned to a lot of sighing and eye-rolling, though on the inside he was pleased to see Dean so happy while driving his own wants through, becoming more and more again like the Dean he knew before the accident.

Sam's face was about to split into two with how wide he was grinning, hugging the dough to his chest as a familiar tune filled the living room.

Usually Sam would moan and complain when he heard those very notes. They were always cranked up way too loud, Dean singing along at the top of his lungs while Sam tried his best ignore it all and focus on some research or whatnot.

Dean's head was bobbing along to the song as he screwed in screws. After that one evening Sam hadn't heard Dean hum again and he had started to think that maybe it had been a one-time experience.

Dean didn't usually hum, not even when he could still hear. Singing along to his tapes or the radio at the top of his lungs? No problem, but humming embarrassed him for some reason. Sam had absolutely no idea why and the one time he had asked he had gotten such a roundabout and incoherent answer that he had just gotten lost in the words.

When a little later, Sam began preparing the pie filling he caught himself humming along with Dean. He didn't particularly care for the chosen songs, never had, and yet they were almost second nature. Years of hearing Dean playing them over and over and over again had engraved them into his very being.

And it didn't stay with that one time. Dean's humming became more and more frequent. Whenever Dean was doing something he enjoyed or made him happy, there was a chance he would hum.

It didn't matter if he was reading, carving, working at the garage, playing with Aradia or even cuddling with Sam in front of the hearth. The songs would often change to fit the situation and Dean's exact mood at that time.

When Sam finally pointed it out to Dean he went an adorable shade of pink. With his eyes downcast he attempted to say something in his defence but stumbled over his words before walking into the coffee table. Now even his ears had turned that delightful shade of red and in a last attempt to save himself Dean picked up Aradia and pretty much ran outside so they could play.

Once he heard the door fall shut Sam burst out laughing. When he glanced outside the window he could see Dean and Aradia, Dean's face still flushed, albeit a lighter shade now. Shaking his head softly Sam decided to just leave Dean to his antics, for now.

For two weeks after that Dean didn't hum anymore. After only a handful of days Sam found himself missing the sound.

Halfway through the third week Sam heard Dean humming 'Eye of the Tiger' as he was mopping the floor. Margery had come down with something so Sam was working more hours at the library until she was better. When he told him, Dean had said that, as long as Sam cooked, he'd look after the housework.

Seeing Dean mop the house was a spectacle in itself.

When afterwards, Dean came into the kitchen to put everything away Sam raised an eyebrow at him. Dean just shrugged. "Hey, if I try to sing it'll probably sound terribly off-key, so humming it is." With that he started to hum 'Smoke on the Water', and that's how they kept what had basically become the soundtrack of their lives.


End file.
